Risotto
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Risotto is a traditional Italian dish made with rice. It represents one of the noblest and at the same time one of the most common ways of cooking rice in Italy. It originated in Northwestern Italy, specifically Eastern Piedmont and Western Lombardy, where rice paddies are abundant. It is one of the pillars of Torinese and Milanese cuisine.
When risotto is cooked, the rice is always toasted before the broth is added. Other dishes exist that are similar, but they should not be called "risotto" if the rice is not toasted. Recipes include "Risotto alla Milanese", made with beef stock, marrow and saffron; or "Risotto al Barolo", made with red wine; but thousands of variations exist, both with vegetables and meat and you can make up your own. Risotto Negro is a specialty of the Veneto region, made with cuttlefish cooked with their ink-sacs.
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Typical Risotto Procedure
This recipe of Risotto with celery illustrates a typical risotto procedure. Of course the ingredients may vary indefinitely, as there are thousands of types of risotto, but the procedure will remain more or less the same.
Ingredients
100 g of rice per person, a red or green celery, onions (or scallion), garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, butter, Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, vegetable broth, good quality white wine.
Note: the rice for risotto should be from the Italian cultivated varieties Baldo, Carnaroli or Superfino Arborio or Roma; other varieties will give a bad result; anyway avoid Basmati and above all avoid parboiled rice.
Procedure
Slice the onion, or even better the scallion and the thinnest parts of the celery into small parts. In a large and flat frying pan make a soffritto with them, using the extra-virgin olive oil. A soffritto ("sub-frying") is a long frying procedure with a low flame, so that the vegetables will give flavour to the oil but will not get burnt. When the soffritto is ready, throw the rice in the pan. The rice will start to soak the oil and get dry, starting to get burnt a little and turning reddish. This is the toasting procedure.
Before the rice is burnt, that is when it is reddish, dry, but not brown, put the wine in the pan (one glass per each 100g of rice). The wine will quickly evaporate and in its turn soak the rice, giving flavour to it. Finally, add the biggest ends of the celery, sliced into little bits. The celery's juices will soak the rice too. Before the celery bits start to get burnt too, begin to add the salted vegetable broth, that you have prepared previously and are keeping in a pan at a near-boiling temperature.
Adding the broth little by little while the rice is cooking is the other key step in cooking risotto, alongside rice toasting. The broth must cover the rice surface by no more than a thin one/two centimetres. When it is completely soaked, add more. The broth must boil gently, never quiet and never furious. The rice should be stirred as little as possible, to preserve the rice grains from breaking. According to some, though, the rice can be stirred continuously but gently. In any case, always using a wooden spoon. Keep the rice surface always flat on the top.
The rice will cook, soaking all the juices and fats you will add and keeping all its starch, which will give risotto its typical smoothness. To complete the procedure, a few instants before risotto is ready, when the last supply of broth has been absorbed, add a good slice of non-salted butter and a few spoonfuls (at your liking) of grated parmigiano reggiano. Alternatively you can also add some of your favorite cheeses (Gorgonzola is fairly widely used for this) about a minute or so before the supply of broth is exhausted - this last action is called "mantecatura". Another extremely common ingredient that can be added at this point is Saffron (this is called 'Risotto alla Milanese')
Once the broth is finished the stove should be turned off (if using an electric stove move the pot to an unused element) and the pot with the rice should be covered with a damp cloth for 3-4 minutes: it helps with the flavour and texture of the rice. Finally, correct with salt and pepper to your taste.
When risotto is cooked depends mostly on your taste. If you want to keep faithful to the best Italian tradition, keep it "al dente" ("to the tooth") or, as some say, "all'onda" ("to the wave") meaning that rice should be dense enough to keep a wave shape; that is don't turn it into a gruel, but consider it ready when grains are cooked, but still have a shape and give a little resistance to the teeth.
External links
- Shrimp & fennel risotto recipe (http://www.mediterrasian.com/delicious_recipes_risotto.htm)
- Mushroom, bacon and walnut risotto recipe (http://www.mediterrasian.com/delicious_recipes_mushroom_risotto.htm)de:Risotto